July 24, 2013

Don't be fooled -- Mo Claiborne's coverage on Dez Bryant isn't bad, at least not until the ball gets there

The Cowboys don’t think Morris Claiborne’s
coverage on Dez Bryant in Tuesday’s one-on-ones was that bad.

Bryant just made it look bad.

“I think the coverage was really good all day long,” coach Jason Garrett
said. “Dez caught one down the right sideline against Brandon Carr, as well. If
you’re putting a clinic reel together on how to cover a guy in press coverage,
you might use that example – unfortunately, until the ball got there. Dez has
those traits to understand where that defender is, see the ball and just react
to it and go get it.”

Secondary coach Jerome Henderson said that’s just a day in the life of any
corner trying to cover Bryant one-on-one, and that Claiborne need not be
discouraged.

“Hey, that’s why we practice,” Henderson said. “We’re seeing some good
things. He’s getting work against a great receiver. You gotta come back today
and battle. You gotta put that play behind you and move on. You gotta put that
game behind you and move on. That’s what being a corner in the NFL is about.
Anybody who has lined up at corner in this league has had a bad day.”

Garrett said Claiborne has at least one thing on his side as he battles Bryant
and other receivers.

“He can really run,” Garrett said. “When you can really run and catch up,
you can be more aggressive at the line of scrimmage. So he’s continuing to work
on that, continuing to work on his technique. And when you have Dez and
Miles, and some of the other receivers we have working against you, you’re
going to get better, as the receivers are as well.”